Snyder declares state rep candidacy

Roseland council chief runs on noncustodial parent issue.

Roseland council chief runs on noncustodial parent issue.

February 15, 2006|JENNIFER OCHSTEIN Tribune Correspondent

SOUTH BEND -- Dorothy Snyder, president of the Roseland Town Council, wants to turn over a new leaf in the Indiana House of Representatives. Snyder announced Tuesday she has filed her candidacy for the Democratic nomination as Indiana state representative, District 8. The seat is held by Ryan Dvorak, D-South Bend, who introduced a bill that would force elected officials who don't pay child support out of office. That includes Dorothy Snyder's husband and fellow Roseland Town Council member David Snyder. The challenge didn't seem to faze Dvorak, who is seeking re-election. "The difference in the way we represent our constituents is clear," he said. "I'm glad to leave it up to voters to decide who would best represent them in the General Assembly," Dvorak said. Dorothy Snyder's seat on the Roseland Town Council is up for election this year, but she said she will not run for re-election. She said she still plans to participate in town government. Snyder plans to run for state representative, she said, because she is troubled about treatment of noncustodial parents in Indiana. "Because families matter, I am running for nomination for state representative for my district, District 8," she said in a news release. "My concern is about the civil rights of non-custodial parents and the destructive effect of demonizing any group of people which is not good for children of divorce, and it is not good for families in Indiana." During a phone interview, Dorothy Snyder said that someone needs to give a voice to noncustodial parents, and she doesn't believe "career politicians" will do that. She said she thinks it is simply easier to "bash" those who have a difficult time paying their child support. She said state child support laws must be changed, but because the population has been more supportive of custodial parents, noncustodial parents have been left without their rights. If people who don't have the resources to pay child support are put in jail, that is akin to a "debtors prison," Snyder said. Plus, she said, putting noncustodial parents in jail for failure to pay child support or taking away their driver's or professional licenses doesn't help them pay the child support they owe. All too often, she said, noncustodial parents are "dragged" into court without adequate legal representation and end up making mistakes that an attorney would not. On the flip side, she said, even murderers and other criminals are given legal representation. In addition, she said custodial parents often are represented in court at no cost to them. According to a news release, Snyder wants to "provide a way that residents of Indiana who have reduced circumstances can modify a child support order in Indiana, even those from other states." At last count, David Snyder owes more than $90,000 in child support, his ex-wife, Julianne Mayfield, told The Tribune in November. The figures were from the Texas Attorney General's Office. Mayfield lives in Texas with her and David Snyder's two sons. House Bill 1104 would require an Indiana officeholder who is more than $15,000 behind in child support to give up his or her office. As of Tuesday, there was no Republican challenger filed for the District 8 seat. Marcus J. Barlow had filed to run as a Republican, but he withdrew from the race to take a job as Washington press secretary for U.S. Rep. Chris Chocola, R-Bristol.